Bill Cosby had a regular Playboy bunny girlfriend within just four years of his marriage to his long-suffering wife Camille, MailOnline can reveal.

The philandering comic was a regular at best friend Hugh Hefner's Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles, not just to hang with the pretty girls, but so he could met up for twice-a-week trysts with his lover.

The claim comes from Barbi Benton, Hefner's long-time girlfriend in the 1960s and '70s.

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Barbi Benton, who dated Hugh Hefner from 1968 to 1976, said it was hard for single men to get invitations to the 1920s-built Tudor-Gothic Mansion, with its famous game room and grotto

Hollywood big shots such as Cosby — who was already a star after making TV history as the first African-American to star in a major drama on 'I Spy' — had no difficulty getting invitations to the mansion, says Barbi

Still close: Hefner and actress Barbi Benton posing at the Playboy Playmate of the Year 2007 luncheon held at the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles, California.

Speaking exclusively to MailOnline from her home in Colorado, Benton, now 64, says Cosby would be at the notorious mansion nearly every Friday and Sunday, to meet up with his lover — whose identity, she says, has not yet been revealed.

But Benton says she did not hear any allegations that Cosby was a serial rapist as has been claimed by more than 20 women, with at least a dozen more said to be too afraid to come out publicly with their allegations.

'Bill Cosby was one of the first people I met at the mansion, shortly after I met Hef in 1968,' said Benton, who has been married to property developer George Gradow for 35 years.

'I didn't know whether he was married or not — I was 18 I wasn't about to ask him,' she added. 'It was unusual for a family man to be at the Mansion — especially as regularly as Cosby was.'

For decades, dozens of A-list names descended on the Mansion off Sunset Boulevard. 'It was a place where celebrities could be with other celebrities — and lots of pretty girls,' recalled Benton. 'It was a candy store for men.

'The girls were usually Playmates or their friends, all of them beautiful, often actresses. They were usually available, but not what I would call loose'.

'It was not a place that people came necessarily to have sex,' she added. 'Everybody always got a free dinner and many people would just come for a meal and movie — Friday night was always movie night. Hef would never charge anyone.'

Benton as she was in 1978 when she appeared in an episode of The Love Boat

Hefner is accompanied by Barbi at the 1970 Academy Awards

Benton, who dated Hefner from 1968 to 1976, said it was hard for single men to get invitations to the 1920s-built Tudor-Gothic Mansion, with its famous game room and grotto. But good-looking girls were always welcome.

And Hollywood big shots such as Cosby — who was already a star after making TV history as the first African-American to star in a major drama on 'I Spy' — had no difficulty getting invitations, she added.

At the time, Cosby was beginning to build his now-shattered reputation as a devoted family man. He had married in January 1964 and by 1968 his two oldest children, daughters Erika and Erinn, had been born and Camille was expecting their third child, son Ennis. Two more girls were to follow.

But rather than stay at home with his pregnant wife, Cosby took off as often as possible to Hef's home to be with his lover, said Benton, who originally made her name starring in the country-themed TV variety show 'Hee Haw,' before devoting herself to Hefner and appearing in four nude spreads in Playboy.

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'I saw him there so many times I couldn't count them,' said Benton. 'He would come to be with this one particular girl — I am not going to name her, but I will say that her name has not come out in any of the recent accusations against Cosby.

'The relationship went on for a long time, well over a year.'

Benton said she doubts if Cosby ever attempted to drug and rape his long-time love. 'Why would he?' she asked. 'She was a willing participant.'

Where all the action was: The Playboy Mansion in Beverly Hills

Pretty women: Hugh Hefner's annual Midsummer Night's Dream party

Roman Polanski - who fled the US when he was convicted of engaging in unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor in 1977 after being charged with five counts of statutory rape - joins Hefner and Barbi in 1971

However Shawn Brown, the only woman that Cosby has admitted having sex outside marriage with, told MailOnline last month that the last time they had sex, he drugged her drink and took advantage of her while she was unconscious, even though she had gone to his home to sleep with him.

Several women who have accused Cosby of rape have connections to the Playboy organization. Ex-bunny P.J. Masten claims he invited her to dinner and he gave her a cocktail. That was the last thing she remembers before waking up naked and bruised in his bed. 'I knew I was raped,' she told CNN.

Do you have any information about the identity of Cosby's mystery girlfriend?

Contact MailOnline at Tips@Dailymail.co.uk

Masten, 64, says she knows of 12 other former Playboy bunnies who Cosby molested, but who are too scared to come forward publicly.

Judy Huth, 55, has sued Cosby saying he raped her at the Playboy Mansion when she was just 15. Her case is the only one currently being investigated by police.

And, as MailOnline exclusively reported, Paige Young, Playmate of the Month in November 1968, shot herself dead in 1974, aged just 30. She had dated Cosby for several months and friends say he was one of many Hollywood stars that she felt had used and abused her and had contributed to her demise.

'I've followed all these recent stories and I have seen the YouTube videos of girls coming forward and they seem to be legitimate,' Benton told MailOnline. 'So I really don't know what to say.

Cosby is congratulated by his pregnant wife, Camille, after receiving the Emmy award for best actor in I Spy

THE WOMEN WHO SAY THEY WERE ATTACKED BY BILL COSBY

Andrea Constand - A Temple University employee, she claimed in 2006 that Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted her in his Philadelphia-area mansion two years earlier. Cosby eventually settled this suit out of court as the prosecution said they had 13 Jane Does who would testify Cosby had done the same to them.

Barbara Bowman - Bowman told MailOnline that Cosby raped and drugged her in 1985 when she was a 17-year-old aspiring actress. Bowman was one of Constand's 13 Jane Does.

Joan Tarshis - Tarshis claimed that she was just 19-years-old when Cosby drugged and raped her twice in Hollywood back in 1969 while she was working as a writer for him.

Janice Dickinson - The supermodel said in an interview that Cosby invited her to Lake Tahoe to talk about a television role in 1982, but ended up drugging and raping her.

Tamara Green - Green, who first came forward in 2005 told MailOnline that she was an aspiring actress in the 1970s when Cosby gave her pills and pretended to care for her while she had the flu, but instead sexually assaulted her.

Therese Serignese - Another of the 13 Jane Does, she says she was 19 when Cosby drugged and raped her in Las Vegas after one of his shows.

Louisa Moritz - She accused Cosby of sexual assault, saying he forced her into oral sex backstage at The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in 1971, and implied he would further her career if she complied.

Linda Joy Traitz - She said she was just 19 when Cosby drove her out to a beach and tried to get her to take pills to relax, before becoming 'sexually aggressive'. Traitz has been charged in the past with trafficking pills. Cosby's attorney, Marty Singer, is trying to use Traitz's past to discredit her claims.

Beth Ferrier - Ferrier claims she had a relationship with Cosby in the mid-1980s. She claims that she awoke in her car with her clothes in disarray and not remembering what had happened. Ferrier has claimed that he drugged her coffee.

Carla Ferrigno - The wife of Incredible Hulk star Lou Ferrigno, claims Cosby tried to sexually assault her during a gathering at his house in 1967. What's more, Cosby allegedly tried to use a friend to help court Ferrigno, and allegedly made his move on the former Playboy Bunny just moments after his own wife, Camille, left the room.

Angela Leslie - The former model-actress claims that Cosby forced her to masturbate him in his Vegas hotel suite after giving her a strong drink in 1992.

Renita Chainey Hill - The 47-year-old mother-of-three who met Cosby when she was offered a role on Picture Pages in Pittsburgh claimed he would fly her to cities around the United States and drug her during a four-year relationship.

Kristina Ruehli - A New Hampshire grandmother-of-eight, now 71, claims Cosby invited her back to his house for a 'party'. She arrived and no one was there. Ruehli alleges that he drugged two bourbons he poured her and she came to when he was on top of her, shirtless.

Victoria Valentino - The former Playboy playmate claims Cosby drugged her and a friend, tried to rape her friend then violated her instead in a Hollywood apartment after dinner.

Jewel Allison - The former model accused Cosby of drugging her wine and making her feel his genitals before kissing her during a dinner at his home in the late Eighties.

Michelle Hurd: The 47-year-old actress, known for her roles on Law & Order: SVU and Gossip Girl, revealed she was a stand-in on the set of The Cosby Show when Cosby started acting inappropriately around her. She says he asked her to go to his house to take a shower so he could blow dry her hair straight, but she decided not to go.

Joyce Emmons -The former comedy club manager claims she woke up naked next to a friend of Bill Cosby after the comedian gave her a sedative when she complained of a migraine. Emmons told TMZ that the comedian slipped her a Quaalude when she was in his Las Vegas hotel suite in the 1970s. She claims Cosby drugged her but has not accused him of sexual assault.

Lachele Covington - The 20-year-old actress, who’d been an extra on the TV show Cosby, filed a police report in March 2000 against the star, accusing him of making an unwelcome sexual advance. According to The New York Post, after dinner and drinks at his home, he massaged her then 'guided her hand towards his sweatpants'. Cosby denied the claim and no charges were filed.

Shawn Brown - The only woman that Cosby admits cheating with claims that after a two-month relationship, Cosby drugged a drink and urged her to down it. He then raped her while she was unconscious and got her pregnant, she says.

Paige Young - Young shot herself dead in 1974 aged 30. She had had an affair with Cosby shortly before her death. In a suicide note she said that many Hollywood stars had used her and spat her out.

Judy Huth - Huth claims Cosby raped her at the Playboy Mansion in 1974 when she was just 15. Cosby has sued her, but Huth's is the only case that is being actively investigated by police.

Chelan Lasha - Lasha was an aspiring model in 1986 when she says Cosby gave her two shots of Amaretto and a pill and then attacked her as she lay on his bed in the Elvis Presley suite at the Hilton Las Vegas.

P.J. Masten - The former Playboy bunny claims Cosby invited her out to dinner in Chicago. Before they left he gave her a drink and the next thing she remembers is waking up naked and bruised in his bed. Masten claims she knows of 12 other former bunnies who were attacked by Cosby but have not yet come forward.

'All I know is I wouldn't like to be Bill Cosby right now.'

But she says with her, Cosby was always a gentleman. 'He never came on to me all the time I knew him. That is why these claims have totally surprised me. They go against all the publicity he has ever had about being a family man — but then I suppose so did the fact that he dated this one girl for so long.'

Benton said she is convinced that the rape allegations against Cosby never reached Hefner's ears. 'I am sure that Hef knew nothing of these allegations. If he had done he would have barred Bill Cosby from the Mansion, even though he was such a good friend.

'Hef was very protective of the women who went to the Mansion. It wasn't a place to get sex. If a girl agreed to do anything with anyone it was of her own accord.

Hefner, 88, issued a statement at the weekend saying: 'Bill Cosby has been a good friend for many years and the mere thought of theses allegations is truly saddening.

'I would never tolerate this kind of behavior, regardless of who was involved.'